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Summary
Author Notes
Terry Brooks was born in Sterling, Illinois on January 8, 1944. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from Hamilton College and a graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington and Lee University. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a practicing attorney for many years. His first book The Sword of Shannara (1977) was the first work of fiction to appear on the New York Times Trade Paperback Bestseller List. He made the list again with his title The High Druid'd Blade: The Defenders of Shannara. His other works include the Word and Void trilogy, The Heritage of Shannara series, Magic Kingdom of Landover series, The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara series, High Druid of Shannara series, Genesis of Shannara series, and the novelization to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In bestseller Brooks's satisfactory conclusion to his High Druid of Shannara trilogy (after 2004's Tanequil), young Pen Ohmsford retrieves the "darkwand," whose magic will allow him to enter the Forbidding and find his aunt Grianne Ohmsford, the Ard Rhys of the lawful Druids and the Straken queen. Meanwhile, though the elven army has been defeated, Pied Sanderling leads a desperate (and well-depicted) commando-style operation to destroy a secret superweapon of the Federation. Pen's parents are simply trying to find their son. While the author may not equal the wit of his earlier Magic Kingdom of Landover series, his characterization has grown substantially more sophisticated over the years, and both his optimism about the triumph of virtue and his avoidance of graphic sex and slaughter make this series an excellent starting place for younger readers wishing to explore high fantasy. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Brooks concludes the High Druid of Shannara trilogy, which begins with Jarka Ruus (2003) and continues with Tanequil (2004), in an equally rich and riveting high-fantasy style. Young Pen Ohmsford, now armed with the darkwand he obtained from the ancient sentient tree Tanequil, is taken to Parador by Druids who have been pursuing him, is imprisoned, and is deprived of the darkwand, his only means of crossing over into the Forbidding to rescue his aunt Grianne, held captive by a demon. Can Khyber Edessedil, wielder of the Elf Stones, rescue him? The demon that passed through to the Four Lands when Grianne was taken is still working to destroy the barrier between the two worlds. Shadea, the false leader of the Druids, and Federation prime minister Sen Dunsidan continue their machinations aimed at destroying the elf and dwarf populations and expanding their sovereignty. All characters remain true to their already established identities, and Brooks unerringly weaves the many threads of his complex saga into an intricate and colorful tapestry that, taken with the previous books, casts the expected magical spell over the reader. --Sally Estes Copyright 2005 Booklist
Kirkus Review
It's confrontation time in the world of Shannara, and things are not looking pretty for the good guys. After getting off to a slightly ho-hum start with the first in this trilogy (Jarka Ruus, 2003), and introducing more conflicts and ominous danger in the follow-up, Tanequil (2004, not reviewed), the ever-prolific Brooks brings things to a satisfying conclusion in the trilogy's climax. For a good part of the story, the action moves along multiple vectors, all of them fraught with peril, as the battle between the Federation and the Free-born for control of the Four Lands rises to a critical pitch. The resourceful young Penderrin Ohmsford is captured by a pair of evil Druids after finally crafting the powerful darkwand, which he'll need to rescue his aunt Grianne, the former Ilse Witch, banished by Druid traitors to the gloaming netherworld of the Forbidding. For a time it seems that everyone in the book is either in prison or being rescued, as with Pen's parents, captured by the villainous Shadea a'Ru and rescued in a daring escape, and Elfstone-carrier Khyber Elessedil, who follows Pen after his ensnarement but who is herself sentenced to death by Shadea. Then there's the matter of the war--Federation forces under the direction of Sen Dunsidan (allied with Shadea) are beating the tar out of the Elvish armies. Add to all this a bloodthirsty demon set loose in the world from the Forbidding, some nicely detailed battle scenes and a fistful of daring rescues, and you have a fine, though hardly groundbreaking, finish to this trilogy. Best for lovers of conventional fantasy. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Young Pen Ohmsford undertakes a nearly impossible mission: he must retrieve the High Druid from exile in the otherworldly realm known as the Forbidding. His is not the only challenge, for a beleaguered army must rally to meet a far more powerful foe, and the world itself must prepare for the arrival of a demonic horror. Brooks concludes his latest trilogy, begun with Jarka Ruus and Tanequil and set in the same world as his many Shannara novels, with a story of courage and daring featuring a new generation of heroes. Demand will be high, so libraries should purchase accordingly. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
One Pen Ohmsford!" the black-cloaked figure called out to him from across the chasm that separated the island of the tanequil from the rest of the world. "We have been waiting for you!" A male Druid. He came forward a few steps, pulling back his hood to reveal the strong, dark features of his face. Pen had never seen him before. "Come across the bridge so that we can talk," the Druid said. The firelight threw his shadow across the stone archway in a dark stain that spilled into the chasm, and the connection was unmistakable. Pen wished he hadn't rushed into the light so quickly, that he had been more careful. But he had thought himself past the worst of it. He had survived his encounter with the tanequil and received the gift of the darkwand, the talisman that would give him access into the Forbidding. He had lost two fingers in doing so, but he had come to believe that this was a small price to pay. Losing Cinnaminson was a much larger price, but he had accepted that there was nothing he could do about it until after his aunt was safely returned, promising himself he would try to come back for her then. Finally, he had escaped the monster that had pursued them all the way from Anatcherae and knew it to be dead at last, pulled down into the chasm and crushed. But now this. His fingers tightened possessively around the darkwand, and he scanned the faces of the captive Trolls. All there, he saw. No one missing. No one even appeared hurt. They must have been caught completely by surprise not to have put up any fight. He wondered vaguely how that could have happened, how the Druids had found them at all, for that matter, but he guessed it was a pointless exercise. A few of the Trolls were looking up now, Kermadec among them. The anger and disappointment in his eyes were unmistakable. He had failed Pen. They all had. The boy saw Tagwen there as well, almost hidden behind the massive bodies of his companions. There was no sign of Khyber. "Cross the bridge, Pen," the Druid repeated, not unkindly. "Don't make this any harder on yourself." "I think I should stay where I am," Pen answered. The Druid nodded, as if understanding him perfectly. "Well, you can do that, if you choose. I've read the warning on the stone facing of the bridge, and I know better than to try to come across after you." He paused. "Tell me. How did you manage to get over there without being harmed, if the danger is real?" Pen said nothing. "What are you doing here, anyway? Trying to help your aunt? Did you think you might find her here?" Pen stared back at him silently. "We have your friends. All of them. You can see for yourself. We have your parents, as well, locked away at Paranor." His voice was patient, calm. "It doesn't do you any good to stay over there when those you care about are all over here. You can't help them by refusing to face up to your responsibilities." My responsibilities, Pen repeated silently. What would this man know of his responsibilities? What would he even care, save that he thought he could stop Pen from carrying them out? A second Druid appeared beside the first, coming out of the darkness and into the light, this one slender and small, a ferret-faced Gnome of particularly cunning looks, his eyes shifting swiftly from the first Druid to Pen and then back again. He muttered something, and the first Druid gave him a quick, angry look. "How do I know you aren't lying about my parents?" he asked suddenly, remembering that this wasn't the first time he had heard this claim, thinking that he still didn't want to believe it. The first Druid turned back to him. "Well, you don't. I can tell you that they were flying in a ship called Swift Sure when we brought them into the Keep. They helped us to Excerpted from Straken by Terry Brooks All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.